Ukraine Update: Elections, Conflict, and the Future of the EU's Eastern Partnership

Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 2:00 - 5:15 pm
The Brookings Institution
Falk Auditorium
1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC

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In 2009, the European Union established its Eastern Partnership to advance political association and economic integration with six neighboring nations to its east. However, in November 2013, Ukrainian President Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with the EU, triggering mass protests in Ukraine that ultimately led to his departure and accusations that the EU “sleepwalked” into a conflict in Ukraine. Although the EU long asserted that the framework was never directed against Russia, the agreement with Ukraine was perceived in Moscow as a step too far. In the wake of the ongoing crisis between Ukraine and Russia, some are questioning whether the EU’s Eastern Partnership should be fundamentally altered—and, if so, how?

Against the backdrop of simmering conflict in eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian people will go to the polls on October 26 to elect a new parliament. The new parliament members will then have to form a majority coalition and begin to tackle the pressing challenges facing the country. The herculean tasks include not just the violent conflict in the east and the troubled relationship with Russia, but needed economic and political reforms as well as measures to curb corruption. Questions remain about Ukrainian public expectations and potential tensions in the immediate aftermath of the vote.

On October 29, the Center on the U.S. and Europe at Brookings and the Heinrich Böll Foundation will host a panel discussion assessing next steps for Ukraine and the EU’s Eastern Partnership. The first panel will explore the Ukrainian election and what it means for politics within Ukraine, the Ukrainian economy, and Ukraine’s relations with Russia and the West. The second panel will focus on international perspectives on the EU’s Eastern Partnership and the EU’s role in supporting Ukraine in this time of turmoil.

Agenda:

2:00-3:30pm: Panel 1 - Between Battle and Ballot Box: Ukraine
Anders Åslund, Senior Fellow Peterson Institute for International Economics
Adrian Karmazyn, Chief, Ukranian Service Voice of America
Lilia Shevtsova, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Steven Pifer, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Moderator: Fiona Hill, Senior Fellow and Director, Center on the United States and Europe, The Brookings Institution

3:45-5:15pm: Panel 2 - What Next for the EU's Eastern Partnership
Samuel Charap, Senior Fellow, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Rebecca Harms, Member and President of the Greens/EFA European Parliament
Oleksandr Zaystev, Fulbright Scholar Kennan Institute
Moderator: Riccardo Alcaro, Visiting Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe,The Brookings Institution
 

To RSVP for this event, please click here.